Comparisons of 3D Software

Comparisons of 3D Software

There are many types of 3D Software availed on today’s market. The following are the more frequently used;

3ds Max

3ds Max is 3D graphics application. It is developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment, The original 3D studio project was created for DOS. After 3D Studio Release 4, the product was ported to the Windows NT platform. 3ds Max is one of the most popular 3D Development Software’s. It is commonly used by video game developers. It features MaxScript, which is a built-in scripting language, and is used for functions in MAX. Plug-in modules can be created entirely in MAXscript. Also, it has Character Studio, which makes it easier to animate virtual characters. It is commonly used in the games industry, and is the most popular games production and development tool. 3ds Max 2009 costs $3,495.00

for the electrical download.

 

Maya

Maya is a 3D graphics application. It is also developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It is a popular piece of software and is often used for video game developers. It is known for its openness to 3rd party software, which allows it to be very customizable. Maya is seen as one of the top 3D modeling programs and is quite expensive at $1,995.00

 

Blender

Blender is a 3D modeling, animating and rendering, software. The difference between it and many other programs is that it is free. Although it is free it is a poor piece of software. It was used in Spider-man 2. Blender is not very well known, so there is not much has been done with it. But it with every new version it becomes better and better.

 

Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D is a 3D graphics application. It is developed by MAXON Computer. It was originally developed for the Amiga, but later moved over to Macs and Windows. Cinema 4D’s programming language is called C.O.F.F.E.E, which is a reference to another computer language called Java. Cinema 4D has been used for many films, such as Polar Express, Open Season. Cinema 4D is well known and costs quite a bit.

Limitations of 3D Software

Has developed in the past thirty years the quality of CGI has vastly improved. 3D software has also progressed. But 3D work still have there limitations. For example each image is made up of a number of polygons and the number used is called the poly count. The higher the poly count the more detailed will be the image and the fluidity of animation. A very high poly count in a scene will mean enormously large files leading to slowness and the software and animation crashing. Another problem is file size. For example, if you were developing an animation, when you go to burn it onto a disc, you only have a limited amount of space. This means you have to limit the animation to fit the memory space on the disk. It could be you have to decrease the quality of textures, or remove unnecessary parts of models. Another example of a file size limit, is on websites that allow you to upload files. They put a limit on the size of files that can be uploaded to stop large files from being uploaded.

There are many 3D programs available, some more suitable than others. Some are only used for specific tasks. There are several different 3D software’s available for producing 3D animations in films or games use which demands a high skill level in the workforce.

CGI Timeline

 

 

 

• In 1971 Peter Foldes created a 2D animation as an experiment, he named the animation ‘Metadata’.
• In 1974 the first integration of  CGI and live action footage were used by Yul Brynner in his movie ‘WestWorld’
• In 1976 the sequel of ‘Westworld’ used the first 3D computer graphics, to animate a face and hand. 
• In 1977 George Lucas’ ‘Star Wars Episode IV’ used the first 3D wireframe graphic for the trench run briefing.
• In 1979 Ridley Scott’s Alien used a wireframe rendering for the navigation monitors in the landing sequence.
• In 1981 the first CGI  character was created for the film ‘Looker’ directed by Michael Crichton.
• In 1982 Steven Lisberger used a full 15 minutes of 3D CGI in his film ‘Tron’.
• In 1986 Pixar Animation Studios creates ‘Luxo Jr.’ which used the first shadows in CGI, made with special developed software ‘Renderman’, it was also the first CGI film to be nominated for an Academy award.
• In 1989 Steven Spielberg’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ was the first all digital composite.
• In 1990 ‘Total Recal’ was the first to used of motion capture for CGI characters.
• In 1993 Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jurassic Park’ had the first photorealistic CG creatures.
• 1995 ‘Toy Story’ was the first CGI feature-length animation, and it was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.
• In 1999 David Fincher’s ‘Fight Club’ was the first realistic close-up of detailed facial deformation on a synthetic human.
• In 2002 Peter Jackson’s The Lords of the Rings: The Two Towers’ was the first to use  AI for digital actors, by using software developed by Weta Digital.
• In 2006 Robert Zemeckis‘s ‘Polar Express’ was the first CGI movie to use motion capture for all actors.

John Lasseter

Before John Lasseter became the chief creative officer of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios. He attended the inaugural year of the Character Animation program at California Institute of the Arts, and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in film in 1979.

 

Since then he has becomes a two-time Academy Award-winning director, and received the “Outstanding Contribution To Cinematic Imagery” award from the Art Directors Guilds. John Lasseter has also received a Academy Award-nomination for “Best Original Screenplay,” and a  Special Achievement Oscar for his leadership of the Toy Story team. In 2004, John Lasseter He also received an honorary degree from the American Film Institute.

 Pixar’s animated feature films and short films have received a vast amount of accolades and film industry honours, under the supervision of John Lasseter.  Jonh Lasseter has directed the classic films;

• A Bug’s Life’
• Toy Story
• Toy Story 2
•  The Incredibles
• Finding Nemo
• Monsters, Inc
•  Cars

John Lasseter also has written, directed and animated a number of short films and TV advertisements for Pixar. These including;

·        Luxo Jr.

·        Tin Toy

·        Knickknack

3D Rendering techniques

Radiosity is a natural illumination algorithm used within the rendering of 3D computer graphics. It simulates the way light that interacts in an environment.  Ray-tracing is also illumination based the method of rendering. When light rays hit an object, one of three things can happen; refraction, reflection and absorption. Ray-tracing mimics this; it traces rays of light from the eye back through the image plane into the scene.

Photometric units are units used to measure quantities of light. The intensity light is specified by photometric units. Photometric units are lumens and candelas. The reason for the different types of measurement units for photometric units is because of all the different types of light. A high luminous light is measured in lumens. A luminous flux concentrated into a narrow beam is measured in candelas. So the different measurement units are because of how light act.

Algorithms are sets of mathematical instructions for completing tasks.

An algorithm of Local Illumination describes how individual surfaces reflect or transmit light. This means using a description of light arriving at a surface, it predicts colour, distribution and intensity of light leaving the surface. So the algorithm calculates how light acts. If a surface should look shiny, it will calculate that it should and make it look shiny.

An algorithm of Global Illumination take into account how light is transferred between surfaces. Taking into account where the source of light comes from, and how it reflected, it makes the lighting look as realistic as possible. 3DS Max has two types of global illumination algorithms that are used in 3DS max are; Ray-tracing and Radiosity.

Cartesian Co-ordinate system

Cartesian Co-ordinate system                                                        3D software packages use Cartesian Co-ordinate system to create the illusion of working in a 3D space. The French mathematician Rene Descartes first developed the Cartesian Co-ordinate system in 1637. This was done in an effort to merge algebra and Euclidean geometry. His work has also played an important role in the development of analytic geometry, calculus and cartography.

 The two axes that define the 2D Cartesian system are the X and Y axes, they expand in both directions on the number scale  positive and negative, the point that both axes meet is called the origin and is labelled o.

The  Z axis is important as it adds depth to the Cartesian Co-ordinate system. This was done in the early part of the 19^th Century, and runs at a right angle to the  other axes.  59units along the negative X-axis100 units along the positive Y-axis50units along the negative Z-axisWould be written as (-59, 100,-50)The purpose of the 3DS Max configuration shows 4 viewports: Top (XY axes) Front (XZ axes) Left (YZ axes) Perspective (XYZ axes)  The Top, Front and Left views are known as orthographic or schematic viewports, because they only display 2 axes at the same time. The Perspective viewport presents a more 3D view because it displays all three (x, y and z) axes at the same time. Viewports are used to show the dimensions and different side of the 3D shape constructed.

3D Film Production Pipeline

Although expensive, the use of 3D based elements has become increasingly common, within film. The production pipeline within 3d is very similar to that of a film. The use of 3D in film has three main technical phases;The planning phase

• Story – Just like a piece of film or literacy, the story has a beginning, middle and end, which is a basic principle.
• Visual Development – Create the concept work for characters, sets and props.  
• Character Design – The final designs for the characters is chosen and then made into 3D characters.   
• Storyboards – Key scenes from the film are pencil sketched, his includes the Camera motions, scene transitions and clip lengths.

  On-set phase

• Scene Layout – The scenes are designed, set and props colours, textures and position, are decided use placeholder geometry. Also the camera movements and angles are planned.
• Modeling –  Create geometric models of the set, characters and props, set up in the scenes to show what they would look like.
• Animation – Fluid movement is given to the characters.

Post-production phase

• Shading and Texturing – Detail is added to the 3D characters, set and props.
• Lighting – The final arrangements are give to the best quality view of the content of the film.
• Rendering – This is when all the 3d elements are put together. This is also used to give the 3D characters, set and props are given the finishing alterations to give a smoother finish to the film.
• Post Product – This is when the scene transitions, titles and subtitles (if needed) are added. This also when the final edit happens.